Larry Mayer

The Bears (10-4) will look to remain atop the NFC North when they battle the rival Packers (9-4-1) for first place Saturday night at Soldier Field.

Coach Ben Johnson's team will enter the pivotal division showdown with a half game lead over Green Bay. In the same situation two weeks ago, the Packers leapfrogged the Bears into first place by defeating them 28-21 at Lambeau Field.

A victory Saturday night would enable the Bears to avenge that loss, extend their division lead to a game-and-a-half with two contests remaining and register their seventh win in their last eight games.

After back-to-back losses to the Panthers (16-13) and Eagles (10-7), the Packers had won four straight over the Giants (27-20), Vikings (23-6), Lions (31-24) and Bears before falling to the Broncos 34-26 last Sunday in Denver.

When the Bears have the ball

Caleb Williams quarterbacks a Bears offense that ranks in the top 10 in the NFL in scoring (9th at 26.1 points per game) and total yards (5th at 369.1) after finishing in the bottom five in both categories last season.

Williams has thrown for 3,150 yards with 21 touchdowns, six interceptions and an 88.8 passer rating. He has also rushed for 339 yards and 3 TDs on 68 carries and reduced the number of sacks he has taken from 68 last season to 23 this year.

The Bears boast a running game that has averaged 171.7 yards since their Week 5 bye, tops in the NFL. They are the league's only team with two players who have both ran for at least 650 yards in D'Andre Swift (935) and Kyle Monangai (681). Swift ranks 12th in the NFL in rushing and Monangai is fourth among rookies.

The Bears will face the Packers without two of their top three receivers due to injuries in Rome Odunze (foot) and Luther Burden III (ankle).

Receiver DJ Moore and tight end Colston Loveland will be among those trying to help pick up the slack. Both stepped up in last Sunday's win over the Browns, with Moore catching four passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns and Loveland recording four receptions for 63 yards.

For the first time this year, the Packers will play without star defensive end Micah Parsons, who suffered a season-ending torn ACL last Sunday against the Broncos. Parsons leads Green Bay with 12.5 sacks, 12 tackles-for-loss and 26 quarterback hits and tops the NFL with 83 quarterback pressures, according to Next Gen Stats.

Even without Parsons, the Packers still possess a formidable defense. The unit ranks eighth in the NFL in points allowed per game (20.1) and sixth in total yards, eighth against the run and eighth versus the pass.

"I know you kind of lock in one player because he does garner a lot of your attention when you go against that defense," said coach Ben Johnson, "and yet they have some high caliber players throughout on the defensive line, linebacking corps and on the back end. So just because one player goes down doesn't mean this is going to change a whole lot for them.

"They play relentless football. They pursue. They have a ton of team speed. The linebackers are thumpers. If you ask your backs to pick them up in protection one too many times, then they're going to find a way to get to your quarterback. They do a great job of that. We've got a tall task at hand. I know everybody wants to make it about the one particular player, but this is a very good defense regardless of who is on the field for them."

Key matchup: Bears right tackle Darnell Wright vs. Packers defensive end Rashan Gary

Saturday night's showdown features a marquee matchup between Wright, the 10th pick in the 2023 draft, and Gary, the 12th selection in the 2019 draft. Wright has performed at a Pro Bowl level this season and will be challenged by Gary, who has matched his output from last year with 7.5 sacks, increasing his career total to 46.5.

When the Packers have the ball

The first-place battle may be determined by whether the Bears can take the ball away from the Green Bay offense. The Bears lead the NFL with 30 takeaways and 21 interceptions and are 9-0 when they generate multiple turnovers and 1-4 when they create one or none. The Packers are 0-3 when they commit multiple giveaways, 9-1-1 with one or fewer and 7-0 with none.

Kevin Byard III leads the NFL with six interceptions and Nahshon Wright tops the league with eight takeaways; he's tied for first with three fumble recoveries and tied for second with five interceptions.

Green Bay's offense is quarterback by Jordan Love, who has thrown for 3,304 yards with 23 TDs, six interceptions and a 101.9 passer rating that ranks sixth in the NFL. In the first meeting with the Bears two weeks ago, he passed for 234 yards and three TDs of 45, 41 and 23 yards.

"He got after us pretty good," Johnson said. "They had eight possessions and they scored four touchdowns. They had multiple explosive plays. So, we're going to have to look to contain that passing game better than what we had the first go-around if we want a chance to win this ballgame."

The only time the Bears defense hit Love in the Dec. 7 game came when he was sacked by Montez Sweat.

"He's very difficult to get to," Johnson said. "He does a great job drifting away from the pressure. They do a great job in their protection scheme in terms of looking to keep the pocket clean. They do a lot of chips on the edges to slow down your edge rushers, so you're looking for your interior to get a little push. But yet when you do that, he can still find a way to buy a little bit of time, and he has a knack with the speed he has at receiver to float that ball out there in front of them and throw them open. That's what makes him a really dangerous player right now. He's doing a really good job and playing at a really high level."

The Bears generated one takeaway in their Week 14 loss to the Packers via a C.J. Gardner-Johnson interception of Love. Last Sunday in Denver, Love was picked off twicehis first multi-interception game of the yearand was held to a season-low 68.3 passer rating.

Gardner-Johnson described Love as a "great quarterback" who reminds him of Love's former Packers teammate, Aaron Rodgers.

"He learned from the guy," Gardner-Johnson said. "You see the throws off the back foot, just strong-armed, very smart, intelligent. He's quick with the ball. He knows how to control the game."

Like the Bears, the Packers are dealing with injuries on offense. Running back Josh Jacobs (knee/ankle), right tackle Zach Tom (back/knee) and receiver Christian Watson (chest/shoulder) are all listed as questionable .

Jacobs has rushed for 890 yards and 13 touchdowns that are tied for the second most in the NFL. Since making his season debut in Week 8, Watson leads the Packers in receiving with 28 catches for 481 yards and five TDs.

Key matchup: Bears defensive end Montez Sweat vs. Packers quarterback Jordan Love

It's crucial for the Bears to generate more pressure on Love than they did in their Week 14 meeting in Green Bay, and that starts with Sweat, who has recorded a team-leading 8.5 sacks this season. The veteran defensive end may be facing a Packers backup given Tom's uncertain status.

Fun facts

• Saturday night's game is only the third Bears-Packers matchup in the Super Bowl era where both teams are at least five games above .500. The first was on Dec. 9, 2001, and the second was two weeks ago in Green Bay.

• Williams' career 3.4-to-1 TD-to-interception ratio is the second highest by any quarterback with at least 500 attempts since the 1970 NFL/AFL merger behind Rodgers (4.3).

• The Bears are on pace to lead the NFL in turnover ratio (plus-20) for the fourth time since 1960. Two of the previous three occurrences came in seasons in which they won the league championship: in 1963 (plus-29) and 1985 (plus-23). The Bears also led the league in turnover differential (plus-19) in 1976 when they went 7-7.